Mom finds magical name in 'Harry Potter'

November 26, 2001|By Hillary Dickerson

For Allison Barb and her 9-month-old daughter, Hermione, the magic certainly is real. Although a wide-eyed Hermione - seated contentedly on her mother's lap - is too young to realize she was named after one of the main characters in the series by J.K. Rowling, that fact has done nothing to lessen the fun for the rest of the family.

"She's always looking for unusual names, and I said, 'Name her Hermione,'" explained Barb's mother, Carol Ferguson, who listened to all of the Harry Potter tales on audiotape and was the first to come up with the name.

Barb has never read a Harry Potter book and has yet to see the movie. "We all plan to go this weekend and see it when everyone's here for Thanksgiving," noted Barb, anxious to see the actor who plays Hermione and get a better idea of the storyline.

For those unfamiliar with the wildly popular series, Ferguson explained just who Hermione is. "She's the smartest girl in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," said Ferguson, glancing with pride across the room at her granddaughter.

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Upon her mother's suggestion, it didn't take Barb long to agree that perhaps Hermione was just the name for which she was searching. "I really liked it," said Barb. She decided on the name a couple of months before Hermione's March 2 birth. "Hermione is a very different name. You hardly hear it. I like the different names; I like things different."

Barb explained that the real challenge came in selecting a middle name to go along with Hermione, but finally, after examining all the options, Barb settled on Hermione Raine. Immediately after the March birth, Barb was certain she'd made the right decision. "She looked like a Hermione when she was born," smiled Barb. "It fit her well, I guess."

Barb believes even now, at just 9 months, her daughter may be ahead of her peers, following in the footsteps of her brilliant imaginary namesake. "For her age, I think she's more advanced than other kids her age," Barb said, noting that Hermione is more interested in walking than crawling.

In the future, however, Barb doubts there will be a lot of pressure on Hermione to excel in school. "I don't know how popular Harry Potter will be when she gets in school," Barb admitted, adding the series may become only a memory, a passing fad. "Right now if she were in school, there might be more pressure because kids know the character."

For now, Barb is enjoying her daughter's uniqueness and quietly hoping the name doesn't become wildly popular with others. She'd prefer to call her daughter's name and get only one quick response - from her daughter Hermione. But, of course, as far as naming trends go, time will only tell.